Counting device



E. P. JENNINGS COUNTING DEVICE July 5, 1955 Filed March 10, 1953 IN VEN TOR. fML-ESU/V P. Jf/V/V/A/GS ATTOR/VEK atent the latentecl July 5, 195

(IQUNTENG DEVICE Emerson P, leanings, New York, N. Y. Application March 10, E53, Serial No. 341,515

8 Qlaims. (@l. 349-213) This invention relates to signs-lin and power controls for machines automatically producing a large number of articles, and in particular to such devices for stopping the machines and/or for issuing a warning or reminder when a predetermined number of articles have been pro duced.

More particularly the invention relates to improvements on the invention described in my Patent No. 3,095,409, it more adaptable for use on printing presses, punch presses and other devices automatically producing articles or copies in large quantities.

One object of the invention is to produce a control which may atiord great flexibility of use and which will afford a setting for the automatic signals or for shutting down the machinery, after any predetermined number of copies has been produced.

Another object is to provide a device especially adaptable to the operating of a printing press.

The attainment of these and other objects is brought about by the use, as described more fully hereinafter, by the combination of a counter or count indicator and associated switches actuated by selectively placed portions on the counter, and connected in series so that said portions may selectively open and close said switches, but when a selected number is chosen, and said portions placed in accordance with the number, all switches, however great their number, are closed.

The switches and counter are mounted on a support or panel which may be mounted on the automatic machine to be controlled.

The invention may be used for switching on to operation an auxiliary mechanism (electrical or mechanical or both) to effect any co-ordinating result timed as may be predetermined.

The same mechanism without a change except to change the location of the portion or studs in the periphery of the proper counter wheels could be made to actuate a magnet to lift a pin bar to momentarily stop the stream of newspapers, traveling on a conveyor from the delivery of a rapid newspaper press to the bundling room, thus injecting a space between piles of ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty or one hundred papers, or it could operate a pusher to inject a space.

And thus it can serve as an automatic counter-starter instead of a stop counter.

In the accompanying drawing showing, by way of example, one of many possible embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the invention as shown in Fig. 2 the section being taken substantially along the line of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows of said line;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the invention;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the counter;

Pig. 4 is an elevation of a wheel of the counter;

5 is a rear elevation of fragment of the mounting panel and a switch part thereon;

Figs. 6 and 7 are operational views of one of the switches in closed position and,

Fig. 8 is a wiring diagram showing features of the invention associated with various devices for the automatic control of the latter.

The invention comprises a panel 1t adapted to be mounted fast on a part 11 of, say, a printing press. A counting device 12 of a known type, except as modified as explained below, is mounted on the upper marginal portion 1 5 of the panel as by screws 15.

The counting device 12 comprises a plurality of digit wheels 16 of plastic insulating material, such as Bakelite, alined on a shaft 18 and the usual mechanical move ment means (not shown) mounted on the bottom 19 and ends 20, 21 of a housing 22. The units wheel (and other wheels subsequently) is actuated by oscillatory motion of a lever 2d, in a well known manner, connected to an oscillatory or ro ary part of the press by a connecting rod 25.

The housing 22 is provided with front and rear covers 26 and 28 hinged together at the top on a pintle 29 secured to the ends 26, 21 so as to permit easy access to the interior or" the housing. The counter is mounted on the panel by said screws 15 passing through holes 30 in the front cover 26.

While the conventional counting device has a plurality of windows, one for each digits wheel, sufficiently large to permit only one digit to be seen from the exterior, I have cut away, for purposes apparent hereinafter, a major portion of the front cover so that what were formerly windows are now notches Bil in the upper marginal portion of the cover framing a lar e opening 32 in the cover 25 which substantially exposes the digit wheels. The counter l2 is so mounted on the panel iii that the wheels are visible only tnrough the notches 31 and only one figure of the respective wheels is visible as normally viewed from the exterior.

Under each figure 34 on each wheel 16 there is a threaded hole 35 in which may be secured a screw stud 30 which projects radially from the wheel.

On the rear f cc of the upper portion of the panel are a plurality of switches 38, one for each digit wheel, so made and located that each is normally open but is temporarily closed by the movement of the stud 36 as the latter passes against a part of the switch in a portion of the path of the stud.

Each of the su omprises a resilient strip 39 of conductive material such as spring brass extending over the top of panel it"; in the form of a hook 4d, and spaced slightly from the rea -e of the panel so as to lie in the path of the corresponding stud 36. The strip is normally curved along an are as at l the path 'r' the stud 3:? as the wheel carrying the latter moves at least 36 and preferably 45 to The lower end of the strip is reverse-curved to form a loop 42 having a terminal contact portion The hook portion at is held in place by a long retaining block secured to the front face of the panel which carries upper socket members 46 connected electrically to each respective hook 48.

Lower socket members are mounted on the front of the panel, one under each member 46, and are each provided with a connector member or point-part 49 passing through the panel for engagement with the terminal part 44.

The point-part 29" preferab is flat Si), 52, which may be walls ces by lateral walls provided in the panel. These walls prevent th 'n becoming twisted by the action of the ,c and loop portions must be rather the cngth since the wheels to in stanourd counters are Li 1.' together.

The several switches 33 are usually connected in by jumper or serial connectors each consisting of a pair of plugs 54, for tne sockets 4-6 and connected by means such as a we 55. A lower socket is shown connected to an adjacent upper socket to the left.

If the apparatus is set to give a signal when the counter reaches, say 4611, the studs are set in their respective holes and three jumpers are used to connect, serially, the switches of the units, tens, hundreds, and thousands digits. When, and only when, the switches of all digits wheels are closed, (and this will be effected when the predetermined number of 4611 is reached) does the signal appear. For this reason it is necessary that the arched portion 41 of the switch be long so that the switch may remain closed while the indicator of the counter registers at least one increment past the intended closing position. This is especially necessary for the units and tens wheels in high speed work, else the tender or automatic stoppers, if not sensing the one signal, will never get another signal. Moreover, when a counter becomes worn, the change, say from 999 to 1000 is not always sharp, and if the apparatus must respond at only one wheel position the danger of the switches never being closed simultaneously is increased.

The serially connected switches 38 may be interposed exact the units-to-tens jumper may be omitted and the plug 5% inserted in the upper tens socket.

Fig. 8 shows how the apparatus may be put to use in a typical system; for clarity, only one switch 38 is shown but it is to be understood from the description above that several such switches are usually connected in series. Current from a line L is transformed to a safe low voltage for operating a relay 59 energized upon closure of the switch 38. Energization of the relay may be used to cause a danger light 60 to glow and sound a buzzer 61 and extinguish a safe light 62.. If desired the relay, lights and signal 61, as well as the transformer 64- may be mounted on the panel 10.

The energization of relay 59 may be used to actuate a circuit breaker 65 to stop a motor 66 for driving the printing press. In press work or wherever continuous strips of paper 68 or insulating material is used as feed, the feed may be used to prevent biased closure of switch contacts 69-79 of a switch connected in parallel with the switch 33. When the feed is no longer present, the

contacts 69-79 close with the same results obtained when switch 38 closes.

In the operation of the switches 38 the screw stud 36 engages the first, the upper portion of the strip 39 to close the switch. The movement of the loop portion 42 is comparatively large because it is, in effect, the end of a long lever. The resilience of the loop allows such large motion and yet retains the terminal portion 44 against the point-part 49 as the screw stud moves along the arc portion 41. For this reason, even though the switches close promptly and give a signal when the desired number setting is reached, there will still be produced one or two more signals when ten or twenty additional copies are struck, assuming that the units switch is in the circuit. If the tens switch is the lowest order switch then a hundred or two hundred copies are produced before the succeeding signals.

As explained below the arc portion 41 may be shortened to less than 36 where it is desired that only one switch be used for controlling intermittent operations. That is, the switch will close and remain closed at a showing of only one digit on the counter wheel.

Not only may the device be employed to stop a motor or throw off the power but the same device can be used for many other purposes.

The same means can be used to automatically control In this manner a newspaper press is to be caused to separate and deliver the papers in lots of one hundred copies for bundling by providing a space or marker without stopping the machine.

it would only require the placing of an operating plug at each digit of third or hundreds wheel of the counter, or if bundles of fifty are desired an operating plug 36 under the figure 5 and the O (cipher) in the second or tens wheel will accomplish the purpose.

If lots of tens are desired a plug in the zero of the unit will give the result.

While this electro-mechanism is originally designed for, and operates as, an automatic stop counter capable of shutting off the power from an electric motor or other source of power at any predetermined number from one to 9, one to 99, one to 999, one to 9,999 or one to 99,999 as the number of wheels on the counter increases from one to five or more as wheels are added to the counting mechanism. It also can be readily adapted to operate a separating mechanism or conveying mechanism to cause each dozen or gross, ten or fifty, or etc. to be set apart. It can be applied not only to printing presses where a predetermined quantity are required and web fed machines but may find a ready welcome for die-casting machines, punch presses, book collating machines and many other types of automatic production machines. Even type casting machines where a certain quantity of each letter are required to make a complete font, paper cutting machines where reams or quires are to be separated.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, a panel; a counter secured to the rear upper marginal portion of the panel and having a plurality of indicator wheels of insulating material exhibiting a row of digits at the upper edge of the panel; a radially projecting stud selectively mounted on the periphery of each wheel; a row of a plurality of switches respectively associated with said wheels, each switch including a resilient strip of metal having a hook part secured to the front face of the panel and passing over the upper edge of the panel as far as the path of said stud and thence downwardiy and around the periphery of the wheel for at least 36 of the wheels' periphery, the strip being provided with a lower terminal portion curved toward the panel; the panel being provided with a recess for each switch and having parallel vertical side walls to guide said terminal portion in the recess; a rcarwardly projecting contact member passing through the panel and into said recess for engagement with said terminal portion; and means for connecting the contact member of one switch to the resilient strip of an adjacent switch in the row to connect the switches in series.

2. Incombination, a panel; a counter secured to the rear upper marginal portion of the panel and having an indicator wheel of insulating material for exhibiting digits at the upper edge of the panel; a radially projecting stud selectively mounted on the periphery of the wheel; a switch associated with said one wheel and including a resilient strip of metal housing a hook part secured to the front face of the panel and passing over the upper edge of the panel as far as the path of said stud and thence downwardly and around the periphery of the wheel for at least 36 of the wheels periphery, for causing the stud tohold the strip toward the panel as the wheel rotates the 36; the strip being provided with a lower terminal portion curved toward the panel; the panel being provided with a recess having parallel vertical side walls to guide said terminal portion in the recess and a rearwardly projecting contact member passing through the panel and into said recess for engagement with said terminal portion.

3. In combination, a panel; a counter secured to the rear upper marginal portion of the panel and having a plurality of rotary indicator wheels of insulating material exhibiting a row of digits at the upper edge of the panel; a radially projecting stud selectively mounted on the periphery of each wheel; a row of a plurality of switches respectively associated with said wheels, each switch including a resilient strip of metal secured to the front face of the panel and passing over the upper edge or" the panel as far as the path of said stud and thence downwardly and around the periphery of the wheel for at least 36 of the wheels periphery, the strip being provided with a lower terminal portion curved toward the panel; the panel being provided with a recess having parallel vertical side walls to guide said terminal portion in the recess: a rearwardly projecting fixed contact member passing through the panel and into said recess for engagement with said terminal portion, the stud urging the strip against the contact member when stud engages the strip, and means for connecting the contact member of one switch to the resilient strip of an adjacent switch in the row to connect the switches in series.

4. In combination, a panel; a counter secured to the rear upper marginal portion of the panel and having a plurality of indicator wheels of insulating material es.- hibiting a row of digits at the upper edge of the panel; a radially projecting stud selectively mounted on the periphery of each wheel; a row of a plurality of switches respectively associated with said wheels, each switch ineluding a resilient strip of metal having a hook part secured to the front face of the panel and passing over the upper edge of the panel as far as the path of said stud; the strip being provided with a lower terminal portion curved toward the panel; the panel being provided with a recess for each switch, each recess having parallel verti cal side walls to guide said terminal portion in the recess; rearwardly projecting contact members, each passing through the panel and into each recess for engagement with said terminal portion when the stud engages the strip, and means for connecting the contact member of one switch to the resilient strip of an adjacent switch in the row to connect the switches in series.

5. In combination, a panel; a counter secured to the rear upper marginal portion of the panel and having a plurality of indicator wheels of insulating material errhibiting a row of digits at the upper edge or" the panel; a radially projecting stud selectively mounted on the periphery of each wheel; a row of a plurality of switches respectively associated with said wheels each switch including a resilient strip of metal having a hook part secured to the front face of the panel and passing over the upper edge of the panel as far as the path of the stud; the strip being provided with a lower terminal portion curved toward the panel; the panel being provided with a. recess for each switch, each recess having parallel vertical side walls to guide said terminal portion in the recess; rearw'ardly projecting contact members, each passing through the panel and into each recess for engagement with said terminal portion when the stud engages the strip, a row of upper socket members on the panel and connected to the respective hook parts, a. row of lower socket members on the panel and connected to the respective contact members, jumpers consisting of two electrically connected plugs one in a lower socket of one switch and the other in the upper socket of an adjoining switch to connect the switches in series, and means for connecting the serially connected switches into a signal actuating circuit.

6. An arrangement for completing a circuit in response to a predetermined count comprising a counter having a number of insulated counting wheels of different orders and means (t-"hereby the counting wheel of a higher order is controlled. by the counting wheel of the preceding lower order, a circuit closing means for each counting wheel comprising contact members insulated from each other and normally out of contact with each other, a terminal for each contact member, an actuating member for each circuit closer selectively positionable circumferentially on the corresponding counting wheel to cause the contacts to close, jumpers connecting the terminals to serially connect all of the circuit closers and a circuit branch including two contact terminals for connection in any combination to said first terminals to include in the circuit branch any single circuit closer or any number of circuit closers intermediate the selected first terminals.

7. An arrangement as in claim 6 wherein the first named terminals are jacks and the second named terminals are plugs insertable in the jacks.

8. An arrangement as in claim 6 wherein said branch includes signal means responsive to current in said branch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNETED STATES PATENTS 1,001,409 Jennings, Jr Aug. 22, 1911 1,101,064 Dana June 23, 1914 1,118,024 Lawrence Nov. 24, 1914 1,185,690 Lawrence June 6, 1916 1,195,494 Nicholas Aug. 22, 1916 1,405,260 Beavers "a a Jan. 31, 1922 2,130,290 Palta et al. Sept. 13, 1938 2,319,432 Panissidi May 18, 1943 2,492,408 Willcox Dec. 27, 1949 

